Paper, 'On the vertebral chain of birds' by William Kitchen Parker

Description

Parker writes: 'A few years ago I noticed a remarkable fact in the development of the Green Turtle (Chelone viridis), namely, that whilst thirteen myotomes are developed in the cervical region, the intercalary vertebral segments found afterwards are only eight. More recently, whilst working out the development of the vertebræ in various types of Birds, it struck me that we have in these high forms creatures in which the vertebral chain has been greatly shortened daring their secular development. It seems to me to he probable that the Amphibian stock from which birds arose—becoming Reptiles in their ascent, but spurning that intermediate stage—were long, eel-like forms, not dissimilar to Amphiuma and Menobranchus among the existing Urodeles.' Includes one printed page.

Annotations in pencil and ink.

Subject: Zoology / Ornithology / Physiology

Received 8 March 1888. Read 22 March 1888.

A version of this paper was published in volume 43 of the Proceedings of the Royal Society as 'On the vertebral chain of birds'.

Reference number

PP/11/34

Earliest possible date

1888

Physical description

Ink and graphite pencil on paper

Page extent

40 pages

Format

Manuscript
Printed